It's just luck of the draw. At the Ocala meet 3 out of 7 VX's had subsequent alternator failure. Scott (VX1) and Alex (-x-) were the most aggressive drivers, going back to waterholes for second and thirds and fourths, yet Alex did not get the problem. Scott did, but then so did Frank and I, who were less aggressive.
I can relate to hitting tires at a good speed because I nailed a few lining the course at the Starke European Rally School rally sprints Joe Black and I did. It was no sweat, but most were in very tight hairpins at lower speeds, though I did clip one at probably around 40. Speeds in the long straights on the course got up there - you could push 80 plus. I also went off into the brush on hairpins several times, and Joe got on two wheels and carved a path through dense brush down a 3-foot embankment and back up onto the course, all at good speed, coming out no worse for the wear. Everyone who saw it was saying that was the most amazing thing they'd laid eyes on. I did a nice spinout on the tarmac of the old airstrip near the start and ended up with this barrier of piled up chunks of asphalt right in front of me. Now we had cars get some good body damage from sliding into that stuff (mostly in the turn pictured below), but the adrenaline was pumping and I wasn't wasting any time throwing it into reverse - I hit the gas and just drove over it, and not exactly gingerly. No damage. Nobody else there but Joe or I could have gotten away with the kinda stuff we did. Gotta give major credit to the VX! :-)
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